Violence committed by and against juveniles was the focus
of this study. Two groups were examined: incarcerated (criminally
active) juveniles and students in inner-city high schools, since these
youths are popularly considered to engage in and experience violence
(especially gun-related violence), to belong to urban street gangs,
and to participate in the drug trafficking thought to lead to
excessive gun violence. Self-administered questionnaires were
completed by 835 male inmates in six ... (more info)

Violence committed by and against juveniles was the focus
of this study. Two groups were examined: incarcerated (criminally
active) juveniles and students in inner-city high schools, since these
youths are popularly considered to engage in and experience violence
(especially gun-related violence), to belong to urban street gangs,
and to participate in the drug trafficking thought to lead to
excessive gun violence. Self-administered questionnaires were
completed by 835 male inmates in six correctional facilities and 1,663
male and female students from ten inner-city high schools in
California, Illinois, Louisiana, and New Jersey. Data collection took
place during January through April of 1991. To maximize response
rates, inducements of five dollars were offered to the inmates,
Spanish-language versions of the questionnaire were provided to
inmates who preferred them, and personal interviews were conducted
with inmates whose reading skills were less than sufficient to
complete the questionnaire on their own. In four schools, principals
permitted the inducements to be offered to students to participate in
the study. As with the inmate survey, a Spanish-language version of
the questionnaire was provided to students who preferred it. The
questionnaires covered roughly the same core topics for both inmates
and students. Items included questions on sociodemographic
characteristics, school experiences, gun ownership, gun use for
several types of firearms, gun acquisition patterns, gun-carrying
habits, use of other weapons, gang membership and gang activities,
self-reported criminal histories, victimization patterns, drug use,
alcohol use, and attitudes concerning guns, crime, and violence. In
both questionnaires, the majority of the items covered firearms
knowledge, acquisition, and use. The remaining items in the inmate
survey primarily covered criminal behavior and, secondarily,
victimization histories. In the student survey, these priorities were
reversed.

Universe:
Male youths incarcerated in six juvenile corrections
facilities in California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Louisiana, and
male and female students attending public schools proximate to the six
correctional facilities.

Data Types:
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

Users are encouraged to obtain a copy of the Final
Report for further details of the representativeness of the
respondents.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
The increase in violence committed by and against
juveniles has come more and more to define the public's image of the
crime problem and the larger political debate over anti-crime policy.
While evidence documenting the extent of youth violence is abundant,
the available research evidence dealing with juveniles, guns, and
violence has left many important questions unanswered, for which this
data collection attempts to provide information. Concerning violence
on the streets, how many street juveniles, of what description, own,
carry, or use firearms on a routine basis? Where and how are their
firearms obtained? What empirical relationships can be discerned
between firearms behaviors and involvement in crime, gangs, or the
drug trade? Concerning juvenile violence in the schools, how
prevalent is gun ownership, carrying, and use among students in
inner-city schools? Who are the inner-city victims of youthful gun
violence? Regarding current beliefs about gangs, drugs, and guns, how
much is true and how much is modern urban myth? If guns are indeed
prevalent among youth, whether they are gang members or not, what
kinds of guns do the youths possess? Where and how do juveniles obtain
their firearms, how easily, and at what cost?

Study Design:
Efforts were concentrated on incarcerated
(criminally active) juveniles and students in inner-city high schools,
since these youths are popularly considered to engage in and
experience violence (especially gun-related violence), to belong to
urban street gangs, and to participate in the drug trafficking thought
to lead to excessive gun violence. Self-administered questionnaires
were completed by 835 male inmates in six correctional facilities and
1,663 male and female students from ten inner-city high schools in the
United States. Data collection took place during January through April
of 1991. Respondents were told that the research sought information
about what they knew about guns in their neighborhoods and peer
groups, as well as information about their personal knowledge and
experience. In all cases, students and inmates were assured that their
participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Respondents
were also asked to sign a form attesting that they understood the
subject of the study and that their participation was entirely
voluntary. For the inmate survey, administrators announced the study
to wards in each of the smaller facilities' dormitories and to those
in about half of the larger facilities' dormitories. To maximize
response rates, inducements of five dollars were offered to the
inmates, Spanish-language versions of the questionnaire were provided
to inmates who preferred them, and personal interviews were conducted
with inmates whose reading skills were less than sufficient to
complete the questionnaire on their own. In all cases, groups of 10 to
20 inmates completed the questionnaire at a time. Average completion
time for the survey was less than one hour. In some schools, the
survey was administered to groups of 20 to 30 students at a time. In
others, the survey was given to larger assemblies of 100 to 200
students. In four schools, principals permitted inducements of five
dollars to be offered to the students to participate in the study. As
with the inmate survey, a Spanish-language version of the
questionnaire was provided to students who preferred it.

Sample:
The site selection strategy specifically targeted areas in
which gun-related activities were considered relatively extensive.
Although technically not generalizable, the sites were also not to
deviate obviously or seriously from most sites. To sample criminally
active youth, inmates in the chosen states' major juvenile corrections
facilities were sought. To sample inner-city students, high school
students (ninth- through twelfth-graders) in large public schools in
major cities near the correctional facilities were targeted.

Data Source:

self-enumerated questionnaires

Description of Variables:
The questionnaires covered roughly the same core
topics for both inmates and students. Items included questions on
sociodemographic characteristics, school experiences, gun ownership,
gun use for several types of firearms, gun acquisition patterns,
gun-carrying habits, use of other weapons, gang membership and gang
activities, self-reported criminal histories, victimization patterns,
drug use, alcohol use, and attitudes concerning guns, crime, and
violence. In both questionnaires, the majority of the items covered
firearms knowledge, acquisition, and use. The remaining items in the
inmate survey primarily covered criminal behavior and, secondarily,
victimization histories. In the student survey, these priorities were
reversed.

Response Rates:
Although exact response rates are not available,
the number of inmates actually surveyed varied from 22 percent of the
facilities' populations to 62 percent, with a mean of 42 percent. For
the student survey, the number of students surveyed in each school
ranged from 109 to 229, with a mean of 165. The percentage of the
student population surveyed across schools ranged from 7 to 21
percent, with a mean of 10 percent. For both surveys, lower
percentages were a function of the larger-sized facilities or
schools.

Presence of Common Scales:
Several Likert-type scales were used.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:1996-01-22

Version History:

2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one
or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well
as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable,
and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to
reflect these additions.